Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

I hope that today finds you with your families, making wonderful memories.

Make a Graham Cracker Gingerbread House - Fun Stuff to Do Anywhere

Make a Graham Cracker Gingerbread House - Fun Stuff to Do Anywhere

After one of my Halloween posts, I promised to share something fun you could do with the Halloween leftover candy that nobody likes. Here it is: use it to decorate a mini graham cracker gingerbread house.

These graham cracker gingerbread houses are cute, and fun to make. And since they are small, they aren't too complicated. The key to a nice graham cracker house is good frosting. A frosting that is too soft will make the house wobbly, and easy to fall apart as you add other decorations. However, a frosting that is really nice and stiff, and will dry like stone will also be pretty uneatable, so you might want to decide ahead of time if you want to eat them when they are done. I suppose you could also use glue instead of frosting if you don't want to eat them, but most white glues will dry clear, and I think they white joints look nice.

I find that the canned frosting is generally too soft. I like the prepackaged tubes of frosting because they are fairly stiff, and much easier to handle and work with with little mess. If you want to make your own, I found a  recipe for stiff royal frosting here.

For the graham cracker parts of the house, we used two squares (1/2 of a whole big graham cracker) for the roof, and 4 squares for the sides of the house. I have also seen ones made with 2 small rectangles of graham cracker (or 1/2 of a square) for the sides of the house, and the front and back made by cutting a square of graham cracker into a house shape by cutting the corners off one of the smaller rectangles. When I've tried to make those cuts, it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I broke a lot crackers, and became frustrated. They do turn out a little cuter that way though.

Use your frosting to stick all the sides and the roof together and then let it sit and dry a little while. When it is dry and fairly stable, you can use more frosting to stick candies on the house for decorations.

TA-DA! Little Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses.

December 2010 Fun Stuff to Do

Ardenwood Historic Farms: December 4th and 5th 2010 -
This is one of my favorite new holiday traditions. Ardenwood is a historic farm in Freemont. The first weekend in December they have their Christmas festival. They celebreate in Victorian era style. They have carolers, Victorian crafts, the Patterson House is all decked out in Christmas atire, Father Christmas is there, and there is a yule log hunt, plus a lot more. It's a fun place to visit any time of year, but Christmastime is my favorite. Dress warm, since it's an outdoor event.

Crockett's Winder Block Party: December 4th from 1:00pm to 3:00pm -
I've never been to this event, but it sounds like a ton of fun: " Amble down one of Crockett's most historic blocks through the Crockett Library, Crockett Historical Museum, East Bay NTRAK Model RR, and Carquinez Women's Clubs' "Old Homestead". Enjoy: caroling, Christmas stories, crafts, Betty Buttons the Clown with her balloon animals and hats, Don O'Brien and the "Extreme Science Magic Show".
Refreshments provided. FREE!"

Tilden Nature Area Family Restoration Day (Berkley): December 12th -
"Join other families who care about the environment on this action-oriented program. Learn about nature's interrelationships and help remove invasive plants. Make a difference while having fun! Rain cancels. This is a drop in program; no registration is required. For information, call (510) 544-2233. "

Dickens Christmas Fair, San Francisco: Dec. 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 2010; 11:00am - 7:00 pm -
I've never been to this either, but every review I've read, and everyone I've talked to that has gone enjoyed it. It's a little more pricey than some of the other things on this list, but if you love this time period, you'll probably find it worthwhile.

Holiday Frolic and Snow Park, Martinez: Dec 3rd, 4th, and 5th -
They have snow to play in! How much better can it get than that? (Okay, they have some other fun activities and crafts too) There is a small charge for the snow play and sledding, but most of the events are free here, including a tree lighting and a holiday light parade.

Dunsmuir Historic Estate, Oakland:
I've had some trouble finding specifics for this, such as what dates the Christmas events go on, but several friends say this is a really fun place to visit, so I'm going to list it. If anyone visits, or knows more, please feel free to comment and share!

Local libraries all over the Bay Area are doing tons of fun December activities for families and kids. Check out your local county library's website to see what the branches near you are up to.